Ru Meng pulled him into the hollow of the tree, and although Ling Zhenfei didn't know why, it was at this moment that he suddenly felt a cold breeze from the sky, followed by a shadow descending from the air, landing precisely on the canopy above.

Ling Zhenfei was startled, as his Divine Sense had already detected the presence of the creature—it was an enormous Eagle with a body as black and hard as iron.

After it descended upon the trunk, it didn't move at all; its talons, like iron pincers, firmly grasped the trunk, and upon closer inspection, one could even see that the Eagle's talons had left deep marks on the trunk.

Ling Zhenfei was astounded. He could feel that the Eagle possessed abundant Northern Spiritual Energy and considerable cultivation; it was unknown how many years it had cultivated within Xianling Mountain.

He finally understood why Ru Meng was so nervous—if they had been discovered by this wild beast, they would indeed have to expend a tremendous amount of effort.

Now, with the Eagle perched in the canopy just above their head, only seven or eight meters away from them, both tried to even breathe more slowly.

After what felt like a minute, the Eagle spread its wings—which spanned more than three meters—causing a strong current of air with a mere flap.

After several beats, the Eagle soared into the sky and then swiftly dove towards the Pile of Rocks.

The descent of the Eagle was so rapid that the animals atop the Pile of Rocks had only just noticed it but it was already too late, one of them—busily spitting pearls at the moon—was caught off guard and snatched up by its talons.

The Eagle's movements were fluid; having captured the animal, it rose into the air again and flew away with flapping wings.

The animals below were panicked, but after the Eagle had gone, calm once more descended. The rugged path of cultivation always demands a price.

"It finally left, that was truly terrifying," Ling Zhenfei couldn't help but exclaim.

It was only then that Ling Zhenfei realized that due to their nervousness, he and Ru Meng had ended up embracing without knowing it.

Both quickly separated, with Ru Meng also appearing somewhat embarrassed—the Eagle had truly been too formidable, leaving both of them extremely tense.

"I didn't expect the Eagle to land on this tree this time. It usually swoops down from the cliffs above," Ru Meng explained with a slight hint of embarrassment.

Ling Zhenfei felt a secret thrill in his heart; he had always thought that Ru Meng was the type to never admit defeat, and he hadn't expected her to have moments of shyness.

"That Eagle just snatched that little animal away?" Ling Zhenfei asked.

"Not just snatched away; that beast had already formed a Beast Pearl. It's infuriating that the Eagle got lucky—it doesn't cultivate itself but bullies smaller animals," Ru Meng said with resentment.

With that, Ling Zhenfei understood—the Eagle had caught an animal with a Beast Pearl, and by consuming it, it essentially absorbed the Northern Spiritual Energy that the small animal had accumulated and had itself a meal at the same time. Truly killing two birds with one stone.

"In the natural world, it's survival of the fittest; what can be done about that?"

Ru Meng was still annoyed as she said, "That Eagle is so powerful; it must be because it constantly eats these smaller animals, stealing the fruits of others' cultivation, just like a robber."

Ling Zhenfei saw how angry Ru Meng was and didn't understand why—the predation of the Eagle could provoke such fury in her.

"If it makes you angry, that's an easy fix. Once you become powerful enough, go and kill that Eagle, that would be taking revenge for those small animals."

Upon hearing this, Ru Meng seemed to think of something and said, "Right, if we just kill that Eagle, no small creatures will get hurt."

After speaking, Ru Meng glanced at Ling Zhenfei and then curved her lips into a smile, "That's right, you still owe me a favor, and I want you to kill that Eagle."

Ling Zhenfei was startled as he heard this, "Don't joke around. The aura of that Eagle just now was clearly much stronger than us, and this forest is its home turf. Going to kill the Eagle would be suicide, wouldn't it?"

"No, this is my condition, and you promised to agree to whatever I asked," Ru Meng insisted stubbornly.

Ling Zhenfei shook his head and said, "No, I have said that I will do it only if I can, and that Eagle is obviously beyond my ability to kill."

"Hmph, coward," Ru Meng said before she stopped paying attention to Ling Zhenfei, pushed him out of the tree hollow, and sat down to continue her cultivation.

Having no other recourse, Ling Zhenfei could only sit on the trunk to continue his cultivation, while below the tree numerous animals swallowed and breathed out Beast Pearls in cultivation, a sight dotted with twinkling starlight that was quite astonishing.

Just as Ling Zhenfei was about to focus on his cultivation, he suddenly heard Ru Meng whisper urgently, "Quick, get in here."

Ling Zhenfei was surprised by her tone, but he knew something must have happened and hurried into the tree hollow.

"What's happened?"

As soon as he spoke, Ru Meng put her finger to her lips making a silencing gesture. Ling Zhenfei did not speak and looked outside.

At that moment, the sound of slicing through the air could be heard, carrying gusts of cold wind, as shadows like bolts of lightning streaked toward the Pile of Rocks.

Ling Zhenfei was shocked, for he saw that at least seven or eight Eagles had dived toward the Pile of Rocks above.

Despite the darkness, Ling Zhenfei's vision was remarkable, as he could still make out the appearance of those Eagles. Although these Eagles were not as formidable as the one before, they still were not to be underestimated.

The actions of these Eagles were also not as fierce as the previous Giant Eagle, and after the prior incident, the small animals had prepared themselves; to his surprise, only a few of the Eagles managed to catch their prey.

The remaining Eagles, having initially missed their target, successfully took off again, circled in the air, and once more dived toward the animals on the ground.

Ling Zhenfei noticed something different this time. When the Giant Eagle had taken its prey before, the small wild animals were sent scattering in terror, taking a long time to recover their calm.

But this time it was different, the animals didn't flee, as if they were waiting for the Eagles to snatch them.

As the few Eagles turned in the air and dived toward the animals on the ground, when they were still at a height from the surface, the animals on the ground suddenly opened their mouths.

From their mouths, they spat out pearls like bullets, shooting them toward the Eagle above.

With so many small animals on the ground, each Eagle was targeted by hundreds of beasts. The Beast Pearls flew fast, and the Eagles, descending too rapidly, were unable to stop and were hit by the Beast Pearls.

A few desperately tried to fly back up to the sky, but several Eagles were not so lucky; after the impact of the Beast Pearls, they immediately fell to the ground.

Several beasts pounced upon them and tore those Eagles to shreds. The Eagles in the sky circled twice, emitting long cries before turning away and leaving.

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